Various types of surgical drapes are known and used to keep a surgical site on a patient sterile during a surgical procedure. Traditionally, surgical drapes were linen or woven cloth, and were sterilized after each use for reuse. More recently, disposable sterile drapes have been introduced, in which a nonwoven paper or fabric forms a substantial part of the drape. A reinforcement area is often placed around a fenestration or an edge of disposable surgical drapes to provide structural strength and to absorb bodily fluids from the surgical site. Many disposable drapes also include a number of layers of different materials for the drape area and reinforcement area, with each layer providing a different property to the drape. For example, spunbond fabrics, meltblown fabrics, and polymer films have been used as layers in disposable drapes.
For a vast majority of surgical procedures, it is imperative that the patient remain still during the procedure. In many situations, the patient is completely sedated and the risk of patient movement during the procedure is minimal. However, there are numerous situations where the patient is only mildly sedated, or local anesthesia has been rendered, and the risk of patient movement is significantly increased. In such situations, it has been a practice in the medical field to restrain or position the patient on the surgical table with external devices. For example, a common practice is to use bed linens under the surgical drape to tie or otherwise secure the patient's limbs to the operating table. This method, however, still allows for an unacceptable amount of patient movement, and the bundled linens are often bulky and cumbersome. The linens are not disposable and must be thoroughly cleaned after the procedure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,587 describes a patient positioning device for mobility impaired patients utilizing a corset adapted to be positioned around the torso of the patient. The corset is coupled to a flexible strap that is routed to a drive assembly located beneath the bed's mattress. The patient can be rotated by pulling in on one strap with the drive assembly while paying out the other strap. This type of positioning device would not be useful in an operating room for restraining a patient during a surgical procedure.
EP 0443174 describes a portable positioning device for restraining a patient in a lateral decubitus position of a table. The device includes rigid support walls and back support, and a flexible strap for holding the patient against the wall members. The device is placed on the table, and the patient is positioned on the table in a lateral decubitus position with their back against the back support. The strap is then wrapped around the patient's waist and pulled tight enough to secure the patient against the back support. This type of “above table” restraining device would not be practical for securing patients during a surgical procedure.
A need exists in the art for a more versatile surgical drape that may also be used to effectively restrain a patient against movement during a surgical procedure, or to secure a patient in a desired position for the procedure.